Analysis of Pepsi’s New Marketing Campaign
“Live for Now” Case Prepared on May 2012, Updated 2014 & 2015
Terence K Arachchi, MBA | Acting Dean, Management Faculty, Horizon Campus
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Introduction
Pepsi launched its major rebranding campaign on 30th April 2012. The theme of the campaign is “Live
for Now” and Pepsi has signed up Nicki Minaj as its poster girl for the launch. The campaign has an
ambitious plan to leverage social media such as Facebook and Twitter to the fullest. The pepsi.com
website is converted into a kind of social media visualization dashboard called “Pepsi Pulse” through Page | 2
which people could take part in the excitement of “Live for Now” campaign.
The aim of the campaign seems to be to connect the Pepsi brand with the heart of the pop culture,
popular sports and make Pepsi.com a sort of and exiting hub for the latest trends in the pop culture
and sell millions of cans of Pepsi in the process. The campaign was launched on 30th April 2012 and
will be rolled out all over the world throughout the 2012.
According the press announcement by Pepsi, the campaign will consist of “global pop culture
platforms, relationships with music and entertainment brand evangelists, digital innovation, epic
events and unique partnership”
The aim of this case-study is to try and decode all the marketing speak by Pepsi officials and
understand the campaign in a marketing management perspective.
Local adaptation
The campaign is global, its commercials and probably the stars it signs up (such as Indian cricketing
stars in the past) will be relevant to particular markets.
Pepsi has already kicked-off a Spanish version of this campaign in the USA due to the very large
Spanish speaking population over there. Similar adaptations are expected in Pepsi’s major markets
such as China, India, Brazil, Russia by signing up local stars and sporting personalities of those
countries and sponsoring local events.
Reasons for this massive rebranding campaign

Pepsi has fallen to the third place in it’s the USA which is its major market. Pepsi was behind
Coke and Diet Coke in 2010 in terms of total sales.

Brand “Pepsi” has been neglected over the past few years as PepsiCo focused its marketing
efforts on its “Non-Cola” drinks portfolio including fruit juices and natural water.

Counter arch-rival Coca Cola’s massive, music and popular culture based “Move to the Beat”
promotional campaign targeted towards the younger generation ahead of “London 2012”
Summer Olympic Games.
Terence K Arachchi, MBA | Acting Dean, Management Faculty, Horizon Campus
Strategy
1. Make Pepsi relevant again with the younger generation the way Michael Jackson did in the
80’s and Britney Spears / Ricky Martin did in the 90’s.
2. Link Pepsi with the popular culture in most of its forms and make Pepsi a pop culture icon.
3. Become the beverage of choice by helping the younger generation to live and enjoy each
moment to the fullest through
a. Partnering with pop culture icons and helping young people to link with them
b. Partnering with popular sports and sporting stars and helping young people to link
with them
c. Organizing memorable music and cultural events
d. Give one of a kind experiences to fans of Pepsi
e. Use digital platforms like Facebook and Twitter to make linkages with the youth,
capture the excitement and help young people participate in these events.
4. Make Pepsi’s highly visible in the popular social media and make Pepsi’s digital portal “Pepsi
Pulse” the hub of Pepsi fan’s online life and become part of their regular lives.
Positioning
1. Associate Pepsi with the popular music and pop culture and the popular stars that create
this culture such as Nicki Minaj.
2. Associate Pepsi with sports that younger generation enjoy by linking up with rising sporting
stars
3. Associate Pepsi with fun, excitement, youth and life.
4. Make Pepsi the choice of youthful generation through these associations
Promotional Mix
1. Celebrities – Nicki Minaj is the only announced artist at the moment. Pepsi promises a lot
more partnerships with many global artists and sports personalities
2. Above the line – TV, Newspapers & Magazine advertising. At present, the campaign’s first
“Live for Now” TV spot is running in the US TV networks. The ad features Nicki Minaj and her
“Moment 4 Life” hit single.
3. Music, Cultural and Sporting Events
a. A series of music concerts with leading artists.
b. Other events will be announced at the campaign progresses.
i. Popular sporting events
ii. Popular cultural events
Terence K Arachchi, MBA | Acting Dean, Management Faculty, Horizon Campus
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4. Websites Pepsi Pulse as the integrator and the disseminator of popular culture information
like a digital hub. The site will show (a process called trending – meaning show in order of
popularity and category) tweets, photos and news from the entertainment world, organized
in a dashboard like fashion. The celebrities will offer online challenges and there will be
exclusive deals in partnership with other sites and merchants.
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5. Social media
a. All Pepsi events will be tightly linked with social media like Facebook and Twitter to
create maximum exposure and buzz. All content in Pepsi Pulse will also be shared in
Facebook and Twitter and other social media sites linked to the campaign.
What exactly is this campaign about (Possible marketing objectives)?
If we analyses the statements made by Pepsi regarding this campaign, it can be seen more as a
positioning strategy rather than a pure promotional campaign to boost sales. Pepsi is trying to
position itself as the beverage of choice for the younger generation by associating itself, through
popular stars and social media, with things that the younger generation value such as fun,
excitement and enjoyment of life.
Another objective seems to be revitalizing the brand (improve brand image) by putting it at the
center of the popular music and culture and make it a relevant brand for youth. Cola (Pepsi, Coke
and other) drinks has been receiving negative press almost for a decade stating that it is unhealthy
and leads to weight-gain. Water, fruit juice, vegetable juice and even tea (especially green tea) has
been the beverages of choice for the educated youth who are conscious about their health and
wellbeing. This campaign can be seen as Pepsi’s way of shedding that negative cola image and bring
out the fun and excitement.
This could also be interpreted as a massive campaign to extend the Product Life Cycle of the brand
Pepsi. The fact the Pepsi (together with Coke) is already on the maturity stage in the product
lifecycle the developed world markets (US, UK, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Japan) and that
Pepsi is losing market share to Coke is a good reason for Pepsi managers to develop a massive
promotional, repositioning and rebranding campaign to pull Pepsi out of its decline.
Will it work?

As always, time will tell. At the time of writing this case-study, the campaign is on its 1st
week. This is a multiyear campaign, so it more than too early for judgments.

However following are the good aspects which can be and the concerns
o The Good
 The fact the Pepsi is finally doing something about rejuvenating flagship
brand after allowing it to be neglect for some time.
Terence K Arachchi, MBA | Acting Dean, Management Faculty, Horizon Campus
o

Today’s younger generation live on social media. Therefore, tight
integration of “Live for Now” campaign with social media is a very logical
move.

The signing up of Nicki Minaj seems appropriate for US, UK, European
markets as she is in the peak of her popularity. Pepsi has a knack for Page | 5
connecting with such young, upcoming stars. Michael Jackson was the
Pepsi superstar of the 80s. 1990s had Britney Spears, Rickey Martin and
others.

Pepsi executives say that the campaign will be global and will be
modified to suit each country or region which sticking with the core
theme. This is good. The world is not USA or Europe centric any more.
Newly emerging economies such as China, India, Brazil, Russia and
countries of the South East Asia can make a difference to Pepsi regaining
its Cola crown
The concerns
 Pepsi’s banking on its “Pepsi Pulse” website as a digital hub for Pepsi
fans to get entertainment news and connect with stars associated with
Pepsi seems a bit far-fetched. People usually do not regard company
websites as places to have fun, excitement and entertainment news.
There are more than enough other avenues for that purpose.

Coca cola has stolen a march on Pepsi with its music and youth centric
campaign titled “Move to the Beat”. “Live for Now” could be seen a
copy-cat, me-too imitation. There is nothing innovative about this
campaign except the social media part as far as the available
information can tell us.

The mix of above the line and below the line promotional methods is
not very clear yet. From the available information, the campaign seems
to be “below the line” heavy with most promotions happening through
social media, websites, sponsorships, concerts and events. There are
advantages of below the line promotions, but its effectiveness all over
the world is not known. There may be markets like China or India where
mass media based above the line promotions work better and have
more consumer recognition.

Finally – the whole campaign seems to be US centric even though Pepsi
claims it is a global campaign.
i.
The focus on social media is troubling. In US, Europe and a few
South East Asian countries where broad-band internet access
cheap and freely available the strategy could work fine. How
Terence K Arachchi, MBA | Acting Dean, Management Faculty, Horizon Campus
successful would the strategy be in major markets like India,
China, Brazil, Russia and fast growing markets like Indonesia,
Vietnam, South Africa where broad-band speeds and internet
access may not be available to enjoy the media rich “Pepsi
Pulse” digital hub?
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ii.
What about local language support? It is a given that Pepsi ads
will run in local languages. But if the campaign depends on
youth connecting to the campaign through social media, it could
become an English only exercise and defeat the global campaign
ambitions.
Live For Now: 2013 – The campaign continues. .
Pepsi Max launches latest Live for Now campaign with
Dynamo stunt in London – June 2013
Pepsi Max has launched the latest
iteration of its 'Live for Now'
campaign with Bradford-born TV
magician
Dynamo
seemingly
levitating alongside a London bus on
a journey through the capital.
Dynamo,
whose
'Magician
Impossible' TV series is sponsored by
Pepsi Max, will front the new
campaign under the 'Live for Now'
brand positioning that was first
launched in the UK in 2012.
The campaign will include an onpack promotion on cans and bottles of Pepsi Max during July and August, giving consumers the
chance to win hundreds of prizes, including a new car, and to unlock exclusive never-seen-before
tricks from Dynamo, using the augmented reality app Blippar.
For the launch event, Dynamo hung from the side of a number 543 double-decker bus on its journey
along Millbank, past the Houses of Parliament and across Westminster Bridge, while hundreds of
passersby watched in amazement. The side of the bus carried a Pepsi Max ad with the campaign’s
twitter handle #livefornow.
Sebastian Micozzi, Pepsi UK marketing director, said: "For us, this stunt was a fantastic way to launch
the partnership with Dynamo for Pepsi Max. "There are lots of synergies between Dynamo and Pepsi
MAX and this passion for living for the now and making every day exhilarating is precisely why we
are working with him."
As part of its sponsorship of the third series of 'Magician Impossible' on Watch, Pepsi Max has given
fans the opportunity to watch the first episode online on 4 July, a week before the show's TV debut
on 11 July.
Terence K Arachchi, MBA | Acting Dean, Management Faculty, Horizon Campus